INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — When Rocco Mediate got the call inviting him to his first LG Skins Game, his first reaction was a combination of disbelief and utter elation. After all, Mediate remembered watching his hero and fellow Western Pennsylvanian Arnold Palmer duel Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson in the inaugural LG Skins Game a quarter century ago. So, an invitation to play in the Thanksgiving weekend event was a call he never thought he'd receive.
"I didn't think they had the right number, so I told them to call me back," he said.
They had the right number - and the right man in Mediate, who will face two-time, defending champion Stephen Ames, the world's No. 3-ranked player Phil Mickelson, and seven-time PGA TOUR winner K.J. Choi in the $1 million LG SKINS GAME on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 29-30, at the Celebrity Course at Indian Wells Golf Resort.
As Mediate tees off in his first LG SKINS GAME, Ames angles for a share of event immortality. A third victory would make him only the second player in history - after the late, great Payne Stewart - to win three consecutive Skins Games.
That's one of many reasons why the LG SKINS GAME is renowned for its high entertainment value on Thanksgiving weekend. In its 26th year, the LG SKINS GAME will be produced by ESPN and aired on ABC Saturday, Nov. 29 from 1-3:30 p.m. EST and on Sunday, Nov. 30 from 3:30-6 p.m. EST (check local listings). This is the 18th year ABC has served as the U.S. broadcast home to the Skins Game, which is co-owned by ESPN Regional Television and IMG Media.
During the past 25 years, the list of participants in the LG SKINS GAME reads like a who's who of the greats in golf - Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Fred Couples, Curtis Strange, Nick Faldo, Raymond Floyd, Tom Kite, Paul Azinger, Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie, Stewart, Greg Norman, Mark O'Meara, Tom Lehman, Fuzzy Zoeller, John Daly, Sergio Garcia, Corey Pavin, Adam Scott, Peter Jacobsen, Jesper Parnevik, David Duval, Fred Funk, Ames, Zach Johnson, and the only female player, Annika Sorenstam.
"This is totally cool. I can't believe I'm going to be a part of it," Mediate said.
Mediate will also be a focal part of a public golf clinic Friday, Nov. 28 at 9 a.m. at the Indian Wells Golf Resort Driving Range. Attendance is free and open to the public.
"The LG Skins Game can be nerve-racking and it can make you jittery, but the bottom line is I'm not playing in the Skins Game to win a million dollars," Mediate said. "I'm going because, A) I can't believe I'm a part of it, and B) I want to give people watching on TV an idea of what it's like to play a round of everyday golf, like you'd play with your buddies on Saturday morning."
And so Mediate will tee off on a cool, clear Saturday morning in November with the intent of talking and bantering his way through his first LG SKINS GAME. If winning a million dollars in the Thanksgiving weekend tradition isn't at the top of his agenda, getting his game and health in shape for 2009 certainly is.
"I've battled injuries for a while, and this year and last year they came together and went away, kind of," said Mediate. "I had a bad start and then, obviously, a decent middle of the year. A good year for me. I was not very solid the first half of the year and then, all of a sudden, things happened. I almost won the big one, and it was a lot of fun. I had a decent two or three months after that, and then it's been good. It's been fine. Coming off these injuries, I'm very, very pleased."
He should be. Aside from the $1.42 million he banked in 2008 - the sixth time he's cracked the $1 million mark -- Mediate is riding a wave of popularity that can only come from winning a major championship.
There's one small detail there: Mediate didn't win a major championship. But he came about as close as you can come without actually hoisting major hardware.
Always one of the more popular players on the PGA TOUR due to his everyman persona, accessibility and willingness to try anything; he took a flyer and entered the Main Event at the 2005 World Series of Poker mere months after he took up the game and finished 600th out of 5,619 entries, Mediate discovered to his utter relief that nice guys can finish second.
The story of Mediate's magical week on the Pacific, where he took Tiger Woods to the 19th hole of their now-epic U.S. Open playoff before finally succumbing to the world's No. 1 player, wasted little time becoming part of golfing lore. Mediate finished regulation at 1-under-par and held the clubhouse lead as Woods and Lee Westwood - both a stroke back -- played the par-5 18th hole.
Woods birdied the hole to force a Monday playoff, then survived Mediate's three consecutive back-nine birdies by once again birdieing the final hole to tie. In sudden death, Woods parred the par-4 seventh hole, while Mediate finally succumbed with a bogey after he drove into a fairway bunker and missed a 20-foot par putt.
"As far as being a player, I've become better," he said. "You can't get worse in that situation, but it was the battle-royale I've always wanted with him and I want another one. You're always nervous and jumpy in a U.S. Open and in a playoff, especially with someone like Tiger. But there's nothing that can top Monday."
Mediate, 45, rode the near miss of becoming the oldest U.S. Open champion into a wave of popularity that he still is coming to grips with. He enjoys the warmth of the glow that comes with nearly winning one of the most prestigious titles in all sports - a national championship.
For someone who likes to experience all that life has to offer, the 2008 U.S. Open provided a life experience that Mediate will savor for the rest of his life.
"When you're playing against Tiger, you just want to - I just didn't want to live up to the expectations of everybody else, which was to get my butt handed to me, and that wasn't going to happen," Mediate said.
"You want to be there with the best guy in any sport, and you want to see what you have. And what it did for me is it showed me that I can still do this thing, this golf thing, and I liked what I saw. I watched some of the replay stuff, and I liked what I saw, how my body did what I asked to do it a lot of times. Sometimes it didn't, but, being human, we screw up sometimes."
In the LG SKINS GAME, players compete for money for each hole rather than the low score for the round. A player must win a hole outright to win a skin. If a hole is tied, the skin(s) and money carry over to the next hole. Each of the first six holes (one through six) will be worth $25,000. Each of the second six holes (seven through 12) will be worth $50,000. Holes 13 through 17 will each be worth $70,000, and the 18th hole, the LG Super Skin, will be worth $200,000. The foursome will play for $300,000 on Saturday and $700,000 on Sunday. Twenty percent of the winnings ($200,000 total) will be donated to the players' favorite charities.
The photogenic Celebrity Course, which opened in November of 2006 to rave reviews, hosts the LG SKINS GAME for the second consecutive year and will host the event through 2009. Last year, the par-72, 7,088-yard course lived up to expectations by giving the professionals a dramatic stage loaded with risk/reward scenarios. For example on the par-5, fourth hole Couples went for the island green in two, managing to avoid the water, but instead he found a green-side bunker. Then, in what will certainly make highlight clips for years to come, Couples holed out for eagle and three skins, worth $75,000. In addition to competitive drama, the Clive Clark-designed Celebrity Course features aesthetic drama such as spectacular mountain views, streams, brooks and split-level lakes connected by cascading waterfalls. Vibrant desert wildflowers along with mature trees neatly frame the fairways and greens adding yet another dimension to the Celebrity Course's alluring charm.
A limited number of tickets are available for the LG SKINS GAME. Fans can enjoy all three days of action with a three-day pass for $75. Individual day tickets are priced at $25 for Friday's LG SKINS GAME CELEBRITY PRO-AM; $45 for Saturday's first round and $35 for Sunday's final nine holes. There is also a daily VIP ticket for $150 per day, or enjoy the three-day VIP ticket for $300. Indian Wells residents will receive a special rate and can purchase their tickets at the Indian Wells Golf Resort Golf Shop or City Hall. Parking and shuttle service are free. Tickets may be purchased online at www.indianwells.com or in person at the Indian Wells Golf Resort, 44-500 Indian Wells Lane, 8 a.m.-3 p.m., seven days a week, or Indian Wells City Hall, 44-950 Eldorado Drive, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Tickets may also be available for purchase during LG SKINS GAME weekend. Children under 17 years of age are admitted free.
The popular event was first played in 1983 at the Desert Highlands in Scottsdale, Ariz. for two years before moving to Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, Calif. in 1985. The Coachella Valley became a permanent fixture for the event beginning in 1986. The TPC at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. was home from 1986-1991 and then the site shifted to BIGHORN Golf Club in Palm Desert from 1992-1995. Rancho La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, Calif. hosted from 1996-1998, followed by Landmark Golf Club in Indio, Calif. from 1999-2002. The LG SKINS GAME was played at Trilogy Golf Club in La Quinta, Calif. from 2003-2006.
About LG Electronics:
LG Electronics North America, based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the regional headquarters of LG Electronics, Inc., a global force in consumer electronics, mobile communications and home appliances. In the United States, Canada and Mexico, LG Electronics sells a wide range of consumer electronics (digital display and digital media) products, mobile phones and digital appliances, under LG's "Life's Good" marketing theme. For more information about the title sponsor of the LG SKINS GAME, please visit www.LGusa.com or www.lgskinsgame.com.
About The City of Indian Wells:
The City of Indian Wells is a world-renowned residential and resort destination located in the heart of the Southern California Desert Resorts, only 20 minutes from Palm Springs International Airport. Indian Wells is home to the famed Indian Wells Golf Resort, which recently underwent an $80 million transformation. Owned by the city and professionally managed by OB Sports, this upscale public access resort features the IW Club, a stunning, new 53,000-square-foot upscale clubhouse; The Celebrity and Players' Courses; a lighted natural grass putting course; spacious Golf Shop and Callaway Golf Performance Center, dining and banquet facilities, and more. Four luxurious hotels are conveniently located adjacent to the Golf Resort campus—Hyatt Grand Champions Resort, Villas & Spa; Indian Wells Resort Hotel; Miramonte Resort & Spa; and the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa. The city's unique attractions also include the state-of-the-art Indian Wells Tennis Garden, home of the Indian Wells Tennis Tournament; and The Living Desert, the only zoo and botanical garden dedicated to preservation of the desert eco-system. Premier city amenities encompass outstanding spas, restaurants, boutiques, and country club communities. Indian Wells enjoys the benefits of being one of California's wealthiest and financially well managed cities, and sponsors many sporting and cultural events including the LG Skins Game, the Indian Wells Tennis Tournament, Desert Town Hall-Indian Wells lecture series, The Palm Springs International Film Festival, and Indian Wells Arts Festival.
About IMG Sports Media:
IMG Sports Media, the sports production and distribution division of IMG Worldwide, is the world's largest independent producer and distributor of sports programming. IMG Sports Media produces more than 8,000 hours of television, online, mobile and radio sports content across 240 categories of sports, including golf, football (soccer), tennis, cricket, cycling, motor sports and mixed martial arts. IMG Sports Media also represents the broadcast rights to many of the world's premier sporting events and maintains the world's largest sports archive with more than 250,000 hours of footage. More information is available at www.imgworld.com.
About ESPN Regional Television:
The nation's largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 900 sporting events. Programming includes football, basketball, NCAA events, golf and NHRA events accounting for more than 2,200 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (e.g. - BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, Sun Belt, WAC). ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several other sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl; The Home Depot College Football Awards; the MEAC/SWAC Challenge; the New Mexico Bowl; the Papajohns.com Bowl; the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl; the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl; and the St Petersburg Bowl; collegiate basketball events: the Anaheim Classic (Calif.); the Charleston Classic (S.C.); the Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); the O'Reilly Auto Parts All-College Basketball Classic (Oklahoma City); the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); the O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters; and the SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; as well as the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit www.espnplus.com.
Contacts:
Steve Brener/Brian Robin/Damian Secore, (818) 462-5598
John Taylor, LG Electronics, (847) 941-8181, jtaylor@lge.com
Nancy Samuelson, City of Indian Wells, (760) 346-2489
Mark Mandel, ESPN/ABC, Mark.D.Mandel@espn.com
